The two banks will roll out the process nationwide later this month following a successful pilot in Liverpool and London.

The new process will cover all new applications for customers who want to borrow up to £2m for commercial and residential investment as well as residential development.

Subject to the customer providing the necessary information on the asset or scheme, they will receive a credit-approved decision at the end of a call which should last no longer than 45 minutes.

“We are determined to provide our customers with a better and more efficient service that will, in turn, provide them with a greater level of clarity and certainty for their development or investment plans,” said Paul Coates, managing director of real estate finance at NatWest and RBS.

Both banks have also appointed a small panel of national surveying firms – which have committed to a maximum 10-day turnaround for completing valuations – in a bid to improve efficiencies in the end-to-end process.

Part of the process will see customers using their own solicitors in certain circumstances to allow them to draw down their funds in a matter of weeks, rather than months.

“Throughout this process, our guiding principle was to take the pain out of property finance,” added Paul.

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“We have spent the past six months stripping out anything in the process that is not vital to delivering an efficient service for customers, while providing adequate protections for both parties.

“As we continue to streamline and simplify the process, we’ll be able to enhance its automated elements and eventually enable a fully digital-led process in the future.”

The new model is the latest in a number of launches from NatWest in recent months

The news comes as part of NatWest’s wider innovation and digital agenda, which has seen the launch of SME unsecured loan platform Esme as well as a new online lending platform, which allows SMEs to borrow up to £35,000 in a process which takes around three minutes.

Paul added: “We believe that by giving our customers a same-day, credit-approved decision, they can focus on what they do best – investing in and building the homes we need, the offices we work in and the places where we relax and play.”